Daily postings from the Keystone State Education
Coalition now reach more than 3060 Pennsylvania education policymakers – school
directors, administrators, legislators, legislative and congressional staffers,
Governor's staff, current/former PA Secretaries of Education, PTO/PTA
officers, parent advocates, teacher leaders, education professors, members of
the press and a broad array of P-16 regulatory agencies, professional
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These daily emails are archived and searchable at
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The Keystone State Education Coalition is
pleased to be listed among the friends and allies of The Network for Public Education. Are you a member?
SB1085 is now listed on the Senate calendar for 3rd
consideration. Have you discussed
charter reform with your state legislators?
Debating charter school reform in Pennsylvania
WHYY Radio Times with Marty Moss-Coane - Audio
runtime 52:01
If Pennsylvania was still following the school funding
formula enacted in 2008, an additional $2 billion would be available to help all
of Pennsylvania
The
Top Five Reasons Your State Senator Should Oppose SB 1085–
Reason
#1
The policies in SB 1085 will
not strengthen the public education system in PA, improve the performance of
public schools (charter or traditional),or create efficiencies for taxpayers.
SB 1085 will, however, open the door for the unfettered expansion of charter
schools (even poorly performing ones) into communities throughout Pennsylvania,
whether taxpayers can afford to pay for them or not.
It is difficult to
see why SB 1085 has such strong support in the PA Senate.
Many legislators who
support SB 1085 point to adjustments in charter school finances as their main
reason for supporting this bill. SB 1085 will provide the PA legislature with a
windfall of cash to spend as it pleases by eliminating part of the state’s
share of mandated pension payments. Charter school tuition rates for school
districts will also be slightly reduced.
Many senators who
support this bill, especially those who live in districts that currently have
few or no brick-and-mortar charter schools, appear to think that the damaging
policies in SB 1085 will not have any negative impact on the traditional
schools or taxpayers in their home districts.
Their thinking could not be
more misguided.
When more than 100
private entities can authorize charter schools without the approval of local
taxpayers, charter school operators will have the ability to expand into
markets that had previous been off limits to them.
The
Top Five Reasons Your State Senator Should Oppose SB 1085–
Reason
#2
SB 1085 is fiscally irresponsible and guts local
control of our public schools
First, the private authorizer we already discussed will allow
charter schools to set up shop and send us the bill, whether our communities
can afford to pay for the schools or not.
Adding insult to injury, SB 1085 removes the
ability of authorizing school districts to negotiate enrollment caps on charter
schools. This extreme policy will prevent school
districts from being able control expenses (and property tax increases to pay
for these expenses) by planning responsibly for for new charter school tuition
payments. SB 1085 will also allow for the unfettered expansion of charter
schools in districts that are already struggling to remain solvent and
provide even basic educational opportunities to students in traditional
schools.
Finally, a system of direct payment to charter
schools from the state included in the bill will eliminate the current check
and balance system that helps ensure taxpayers are not making improper tuition
payments for students who have moved out of their district or who are no longer
enrolled in charter or cyber charter schools.
The
Top Five Reasons Your State Senator Should Oppose SB 1085–
Reason
#3
The Charter
School
The proposed Charter School Funding Advisory
Commission is heavily stacked in favor of charter schools and is prohibited by
law from considering the fiscal impact of charter school growth on local
communities. (ELC_CharterBillAnalysis_SB1085_10_29_13)
This is an insult to Pennsylvania
Charter schools are not “tuition-free” as
ubiquitous Internet ads proclaim. In fact, Pennsylvania
The
Top Five Reasons Your State Senator Should Oppose SB 1085 Reason #4
Language that charter schools be models of
innovation has been inexplicably stripped from SB 1085
SB 1085 eliminates longstanding requirements
that charter schools be models of innovation for other public schools. Removal of this key language from the
legislation begs the question, If the purpose of charter schools is not
to provide something different and better than the traditional public schools,
what is their purpose? As
Pennsylvanians certainly cannot afford to fund a second, parallel, costly, and
completely duplicative system of public education, it is essential that any
charter school reform legislation retain language that requires charter schools
to be models of innovation for our public schools.
The
Top Five Reasons Your State Senator Should Oppose SB 1085
Reason
#5
Reason #5 to Oppose SB 1085 The Private Authorizer
System
The PA Senate is poised to vote on SB 1085,
the charter school “reform” bill. Now is the time for Pennsylvanians who care
about our public schools to contact our state senators and urge them to oppose
this legislation. Over the next 5 days our blog will detail 5 deeply flawed
policies in SB 1085. Please take a few minutes, contact your senator each day
this week to share your concerns about these flawed policies, urge him/her to
oppose SB 1085, and share this information far and wide! If our senators don’t
hear from voters, they will likely pass this bill.
SB 1085 creates a private authorizer system
for charter schools in PA. More than 100 institutions of higher education,
including institutions with no experience, capacity, or faculty in education,
would be allowed to authorize an unlimited number of charter schools without
input from local communities. Charter schools will be able to set
up shop without community approval, and send us the bill—whether we can afford
it or not.
House
Appropriations committee wants your budget questions for Pennsylvania
By Jeff Frantz |
jfrantz@pennlive.com
onJanuary 09,
2014 at 3:45 PM
on
As they prepare for budget
hearings, the Pennsylvania House Appropriations Committee is asking for
help on in grilling cabinet members.
In releasing the schedule for the hearings
Thursday, Chairman Bill Adolph, R-Delaware, asked members of the public to
submit questions that committee members could then pose to the department heads
that will appear before them next month.
Residents can submit questions through the "Public
Budget Hearing Participation" link of the www.pabudget.com website.
PA
Senate prez: Do away with ‘obsolete, unsustainable’ pensions or face difficult
budget cuts
By Eric Boehm | PA Independent January 9, 2014
After two years of talk and little action,
pension reform might finally rise to the top of the General Assembly’s to-do
list in 2014. If so, it will be for good
reason. Escalating pension costs will
consume an estimated $2 billion in next year’s budget, which must be approved
by the end of June, up from $1.4 billion this year. School districts, which
pay for roughly half of retirement costs for teachers and other school
employees, are facing similar increases that threaten to swamp their budgets
with red ink next year and for years to come.
The situation requires the General Assembly attack the state pension
crisis, Senate President Joseph Scarnati, R-Jefferson, said Tuesday, just
moments after being re-elected by his peers to head the chamber for an eighth
consecutive year.
“A quick glance at Sen. Alloway's campaign finance reports has shed
some light on his strong support for Senate Bill 1085. In 2012, Sen. Alloway
accepted a $10,000 check from the Students First PAC and an in-kind
contribution of $7,832 from the Education Freedom PAC.
These special interest groups have set up camp in Harrisburg
SB1085:
Evidence explaining Alloway charter school support? (Letter)
Chambersburg Public Opinion Letter by Petra January
10, 2014
I have been puzzled by Sen. Rich Alloway's
unwavering support for Senate Bill 1085, a bill that would strip control from
local school boards and taxpayers by allowing private entities to authorize
brick-and-mortar charter schools in our communities and send us the bill. Franklin
County
Click
here for some background on the Franklin Center for Govt and Public Integrity
and Erik Telford
Letters:
Pennsylvania
Delco Times By ERIK TELFORD ,
Times Guest Columnist POSTED: 01/10/14, 11:13 PM EST |
Cyber schools are a valuable facet in the push
to improve our education system, creating more options for parents and
strengthening brick-and-mortar public schools by providing additional resources
for students with unique learning needs.
But the Pennsylvania Senate is considering a bill that would make a host
of reforms — several of which are helpful — to cyber and charter schools, but
would also arbitrarily cut 5 percent of funding for online public education.
“If Pennsylvania was still following
the school funding formula enacted in 2008, an additional $2 billion would be
available to help all of Pennsylvania
Testimony
Presented to the Pennsylvania January 7, 2014
Donna Cooper, Public Citizens for Children and
Youth
Come
to Harrisburg
Show your School Spirit with PCCY!
In 25 days the Governor will introduce his
budget plan for 2014-2015. Based on past performance, the next budget may
do little to meet the needs of Pennsylvania Philadelphia
and the surrounding counties of Bucks, Chester , Delaware and Montgomery Harrisburg
Click here to sign-up and get details. For more
information please email Shanee Garner-Nelson at shaneeg@pccy.org.
It's
time to renew our War on Poverty: Sharon Ward
Patriot-News
Op-Ed By Sharon Ward on January 10, 2014 at 1:00 PM
Sharon Ward is the executive director of the Pennsylvania Budget &
Policy Center in Harrisburg
The early 1960s was the height of the American
Century. Our nation had survived a depression, fought and won a world war, and
become an economic powerhouse. Before the end of the decade we would put a man
on the moon.
Michael Harrington’s book, "The Other
America," awoke the nation to the heart-wrenching reality of severe
poverty in America
Feds:
Guilty of embezzlement, Harambee charter-school CEO resumes embezzling
MARTHA WOODALL, INQUIRER STAFF WRITER
LAST UPDATED: Saturday, January 11, 2014 , 2:02
AM
The U.S. Attorney's Office has asked a federal judge to revoke West Philadelphia charter school chief executive Masai Skief's bail on grounds that he is continuing to steal money from the charter - even as he awaits sentencing for embezzlement. In August, Skief, 32, the son of the late founder of the Harambee Institute of Science Technology Charter School, pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud in connection with embezzling $88,000 from the charter and the related nonprofit, Harambee Institute. He used the money on personal expenses, including a down payment on a house. Since then, however, Skief has used Harambee's debit card 40 times, racking up charges of $11,000 in cash and purchases, according to documents filed in U.S. District Court on Thursday.
The U.S. Attorney's Office has asked a federal judge to revoke West Philadelphia charter school chief executive Masai Skief's bail on grounds that he is continuing to steal money from the charter - even as he awaits sentencing for embezzlement. In August, Skief, 32, the son of the late founder of the Harambee Institute of Science Technology Charter School, pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud in connection with embezzling $88,000 from the charter and the related nonprofit, Harambee Institute. He used the money on personal expenses, including a down payment on a house. Since then, however, Skief has used Harambee's debit card 40 times, racking up charges of $11,000 in cash and purchases, according to documents filed in U.S. District Court on Thursday.
Reading Eagle By David Mekeel Thursday
January 9, 2014
12:01 AM
The Reading School Board held a public hearing
Wednesday night to consider the last of three separate charter school proposals
it is currently facing. Founder Andrea
E. Coleman-Hill presented the application for the Key Public Charter School Reading Central
Catholic School
near City Park
A
universal plan, but not universal support: Monday SRC meeting on enrollment
process
thenotebook by
Bill Hangley Jr.on Jan
10 2014
When the School Reform Commission meets Monday
for its monthly public strategy session, its goal will be to discuss the pros
and cons of an unprecedented proposal: unifying the enrollment process for Philadelphia
“There’s consensus that there’s a problem,”
said David Lapp of the Education
Law Center
First proposed by the increasingly influential
Philadelphia School Partnership (PSP) in a
briefing at City Council last fall, a universal enrollment system
would provide a single application process for all District schools, some
(possibly all) charter schools, and, potentially, tuition-based Catholic
schools run by the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.
No
Philly school closings this year, says Superintendent Hite
Notebook by David
Limm on Jan
10 2014 Posted in Latest news
After losing two dozen schools last year,
the School District
of Philadelphia
Emphasizing the need to "bolster"
neighborhood schools, Hite said that, this year, the decision was not
driven mostly by financial reasons. The District's coping with a $304
million funding shortfall was the prime factor in making school
closing decisions before.
"Everything we do is financial,"
said Hite. But "this decision is more making sure that whenever we
move students, we're providing a better option for those students, especially
academics."
Unable to guarantee that students of closed
schools would move to schools with better academic performance, the District
could not justify more closings this year, said Hite.
PSEA
recommends 20 ways to improve public education
By Eleanor Chute / Pittsburgh January 9, 2014 12:43 PM
The Pennsylvania State Education Association
today released a report highlighting 20 ways to improve public education, such
as focusing on districts with high levels of poverty, investing in early
childhood education and providing tutoring.
PSEA president Michael Crossey urged lawmakers to use the 104-page report,
called "Solutions That Work," to design initiatives to help students.
Obama
names impoverished Mantua
CLAUDIA VARGAS, INQUIRER STAFF WRITER
UPDATED: January 10, 2014, 2:01
AM
MANTUA President Obama pointed to one of Philadelphia's most depressing statistics - nearly four in 10 children live below the poverty line - as one of the main reasons the city's Mantua section was chosen as one of the nation's first five Promise Zones. The president officially announced Thursday that West Philadelphia, in particular the Mantua neighborhood, would receive federal help from the new Promise Zones program, aimed at cutting unemployment, poverty, and crime, enhancing education, and attracting private-sector investment and jobs. But unlike some previous federal programs, the zones are not promised a check fromWashington
MANTUA President Obama pointed to one of Philadelphia's most depressing statistics - nearly four in 10 children live below the poverty line - as one of the main reasons the city's Mantua section was chosen as one of the nation's first five Promise Zones. The president officially announced Thursday that West Philadelphia, in particular the Mantua neighborhood, would receive federal help from the new Promise Zones program, aimed at cutting unemployment, poverty, and crime, enhancing education, and attracting private-sector investment and jobs. But unlike some previous federal programs, the zones are not promised a check from
NY
State awards $15M for ‘community schools’
Capital New
York Jan. 9, 2014
Thirty
states are raising pre-kindergarten funding
Among states that fund early childhood
education, three in four increased those appropriations for this fiscal year,
according to a new analysis. Nationally,
states raised pre-kindergarten funding by 6.9 percent for the 2013 to 2014
fiscal year. That amounts to about $364 million more, bringing the
national total for pre-K funding to $5.6 billion, the state-formed Education Commission
of the States reported on Friday. And while some states are still making up
for ground lost during the recession, overall funding is actually $400 million
more than it was before it even hit.
No
Girls, Blacks, or Hispanics Take AP Computer Science Exam in Some States
Education Week Curriculum Matters Blog By Liana Heitin on January
10, 2014 9:07 AM
A new analysis of test-taking data finds that
in Mississippi and Montana
In fact, no African-American students took the
exam in a total of 11 states, and no Hispanic students took it in eight
states, according to state comparisons of College Board data compiled
by Barbara Ericson, the director of computing outreach and a senior
research scientist at Georgia Tech.
The College Board, which oversees AP, notes on its website that in 2013
about 30,000
students total took the AP exam for computer science, a course in which
students learn to design and use computer programs. Less than 20 percent of
those students were female, about 3 percent were African American, and 8
percent were Hispanic (combined totals of Mexican American, Puerto Rican, and
other Hispanic).
A
Battle Over School
As the No Child Left Behind era ends and Common
Core begins, two education heavyweights face-off over what we’ve learned and
where we’ve gone wrong.
Governing BY JOHN BUNTIN | JANUARY
2014
When President George W. Bush signed No
Child Left Behind into law in early 2002, he described the sweeping education
overhaul as a landmark piece of civil rights legislation. Closing the
achievement gap between white students and non-Asian minority students was, the
former president liked to say, “the civil rights struggle of our time.”
Many still see it that way. Every year,
thousands of the nation’s most idealistic college graduates sign up for two
years of service with Teach For America (TFA). Successful charter schools such
as KIPP (Knowledge Is Power Program) make extreme demands on teachers and staff
to prepare disadvantaged students for college. Their rallying cry is that
inspired, dedicated teachers can improve educational achievement—no matter the
obstacles of poverty or racial disparity.
K12
founder Ron Packard steps down to start new online education venture
Ron Packard, the founder and chief executive
of Herndon-based online education provider K12 Inc., has resigned and plans to
form a new company focused on technology-based learning programs. Packard will continue to serve on K12’s board
of directors. K12 executive chairman Nate Davis has been appointed chief
executive.
K12, founded in 1999, is the nation’s largest
full-time virtual school, providing online curricula and other educational
services for students in pre-kindergarten through high school in 29 states and
the District. It wasconceived
as an alternative to traditional education, offering high achievers,
dropouts and other students more flexible schooling options. The model is not
without its critics, some of whom have pointed to a 2012 study indicating that
students enrolled at K12 lag behind their counterparts at traditional schools
in math and reading proficiency.
The majority stake of Packard’s new venture,
which has yet to be named, will be owned by an investor group led by Safanad
Limited, a New York and Dubai
From 2009-2013, Packard made over $19 million in compensation, and
compensation to his top executives skyrocketed 96 percent in 2013. Thank you
taxpayers!
K12,
Inc. Executive Compensation - Morningstar
http://insiders.morningstar.com/trading/executive-compensation.action?t=LRN®ion=USA&culture=en-US
The
truth about charter schools: Padded cells, corruption, lousy instruction and
worse results
Charter schools are sold as an answer. With awful
discipline and shocking scandals, many really cause new problems
Salon.com by JEFF BRYANT FRIDAY, JAN 10, 2014
07:44 AM EST
Imagine your 5-year-old boy went to a school
where he was occasionally thrown
in a padded cell and detained alone for stretches as long as 20
minutes.
Or you sent your kid to an elementary school
where the children are made to sit
on a bare floor in the classroom for days before they can “earn” their
desks.
Or your kid went to a school where she spent
hours parked
in a cubicle in front of a computer with a poorly trained teacher who
has to monitor more than 100 other students.
Maybe you don’t have children or send them to
private school? So how do you feel when you find out the local school that you
pay for with your taxes is operating a scam thatdiverted
millions of dollars through fake Medicaid billing?
Or the school used your tax dollars as
“grants” to start
up other profit-making enterprises … or pay lavish salaries – $300,000, $400,000
or more – to its administrators … or support a movement linked to a reclusive
Turkish cleric being investigated for bribery and corruption.
Welcome to the world of charter schools.
NAACP:
Public Discussions Scheduled on PA Charter
School 12:30
pm Media PA.
NAACP Press Release January 9, 2014
Open and public discussion of PA Senate Bill
1085, a charter school expansion plan now due third consideration in the PA
General Assembly, will be held on January 18, 2014 in the community room of Campbell AME
Church , at 3rd and Olive Streets in Media , PA. 2:00 PM . A light lunch will be available between 12:30
and 1:00 PM “Local
control of public education through the elected school board is under threat
for each of the 500 school districts in Pennsylvania Garnett
Valley
A panel of informed education experts has been
assembled to enlighten the public concerning the contents and implications of
SB 1085. Sue Tiernan, school board member from West
Chester Area School District and David Lapp of the Education Law Center
More info contact:
Bettie McClairen at Urban_parent@yahoo.com
2014
PA Gubernatorial Candidate Plans for Education and Arts/Culture in PA
Education
Policy and Leadership
Center
Below is an alphabetical list of the 2014 Gubernatorial Candidates and
links to information about their plans, if elected, for education and
arts/culture in Pennsylvania
2014 PICASSO PROJECT SCHOOL AWARDS
Representatives
from winning schools and partner organizations are invited to join us for the
grants award ceremony on Monday, January 27, 2014 at the World
Cafe Live, 3025 Walnut
Street 6:00pm . RSVP to
info@pccy.org or call 215-563-5848 x11.
January
24th – 26th, 2014 at The Science
Leadership Academy
in Philadelphia
EduCon is
both a conversation and a conference.
It is an
innovation conference where we can come together, both in person and virtually,
to discuss the future of schools. Every session will be an opportunity to
discuss and debate ideas — from the very practical to the big dreams.
FEBRUARY 1ST, 2014
The DCIU Google Symposium is an opportunity for teachers,
administrators, technology directors, and other school stakeholders to come
together and explore the power of Google Apps for Education. The
Symposium will be held at the Delaware County Intermediate Unit. The
Delaware County Intermediate Unit is one of Pennsylvania
NPE National Conference
2014
The Network for Public Education November 24, 2013
The Network for Public Education is pleased to announce our
first National Conference. The event will take place on March 1 & 2, 2014
(the weekend prior to the world-famous South by Southwest Festival) at The University of Texas
at Austin
In the coming weeks, we
will release more details. In the meantime, make your travel plans and click
this link and submit your email address to receive updates about the NPE National
Conference 2014.
The National School Boards Association 74th Annual
Conference & Exposition April 5-7, 2014 New Orleans
The National School Boards Association 74th Annual
Conference & Exposition will be held at the Ernest
N. Morial
Convention Center in New Orleans , LA. New Orleans
General
Session speakers include education advocates
Thomas L. Friedman, Sir Ken Robinson, as well as education innovators Nikhil
Goyal and Angela Maiers.
We have more than 200 sessions planned!
Colleagues from across the country will present workshops on key topics with
strategies and ideas to help your district. View our Conference
Brochure for highlights on sessions and
focus presentations.
·
Register
now! – Register for both the conference and housing using our online
system.
·
Conference
Information– Visit the NSBA conference website for up-to-date information
·
Hotel
List and Map - Official NSBA Housing Block
·
Exposition
Campus – View new products and services and interactive
trade show floor
Join the National
School Boards
Action Center
Participate in a voluntary network to urge your U.S. Representatives and Senators to support
federal legislation on Capitol Hill that is critical to providing high quality
education to America
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